Police investigating Yes Scotland over ‘missing’ £1.5m

Police are looking into a complaint about the finances of Yes Scotland, the group which campaigned for Scottish independence in 2014.

The Sunday Mail reported over the weekend that it pertains to questions over a sum of over £1.5m.

Yes Scotland Ltd has not been active since the referendum, and in its accounts from 2016 onward it showed a zero balance.

David Henry, who made the complaint, told the Sunday Mail that money previously held by the company appeared to have “just gone”. He claimed that the “numbers don’t match up anywhere” and that there was a “host of other anomalies”.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We have received a complaint and inquiries are ongoing.”

The firm was set up by former first minister Alex Salmond.

The SNP has said it was an “entirely separate organisation” from the party, though it was a party official who signed off the books.

Henry played a key role on the launch of the Operation Branchform investigation after he raised concerns about the SNP’s finances.

That investigation ultimately led to the conviction of former chief executive Peter Murrell. Murrell was sentenced to more than five years in prison at the end of last month for embezzling over £400,000 from the SNP.

Responding to the fresh allegations about Yes Scotland, Scottish Labour’s Jackie Ballie said: “These are incredibly serious allegations and it is right that they are considered by the police.

“There are still far too many unanswered questions surrounding Peter Murrell’s fraudulent activities and the secrecy of the SNP. John Swinney and the SNP need to stop running scared and come clean about these allegations and back a full financial audit of the accounts.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “The criminal actions of Peter Murrell were uncovered by a complex and extensive police investigation which found the SNP was the victim of embezzlement.”